Budget not Obama's ideal proposal: White House

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The White House budget plan that includes significant cuts to Medicare and Social Security is not President Barack Obama's ideal plan, but is an effort to spark a compromise deficit deal, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday. The White House will release the budget next Wednesday but Carney confirmed reports that the entitlement cuts are part of the proposal. Asked about objections from Democrats to the entitlement cuts, including the proposed switch to a chained CPI index, Carney said the plan "is not what [the president] would do if he could pass a budget himself." The White House budget will stand "in sharp contrast with the intransigence of the House Republican budget proposal," he said. Obama remains confident that he can lead Democrats to support a compromise budget deal, Carney said. House Speaker John Boehner quickly slammed Obama's budget, saying the proposed entitlement cuts were not enough and did not excuse tax increases.

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